4WD Gear: MAXTRAX

No matter if you’re trying to get out of dodge when SHTF, or you’re trying to get yourself out of a sticky situation on an off-road trail, getting stuck sucks. But getting stuck is part of life as a 4WD enthusiast, if you’re not out there getting stuck, you’re probably not pushing it hard enough. The important part is that you’re prepared to get yourself unstuck, sometimes that means a winch, sometimes that means a towstrap, but more than likely, that means MAXTRAX.

Trusted by four wheelers and elite military units alike, MAXTRAX are a lightweight extraction device that allows your vehicle to drive out of the messy bits of trails within seconds—without having to pull winch cable, or get yanked out by another truck. Made from UV stabilized, flexible engineering-grade reinforced nylon, MAXTRAX take a pounding and keep asking for more.

I’ve been using them for a few years now, and I’ve found that 9 times out of 10, they’re the first tool I pull out to get myself going down the road—especially if I’m in the sand and I have nothing to winch from. I know what you’re thinking…these plastic boards are going to get my massive truck unstuck? I’ll admit it, my first thought was that they’d break the second I drove on them, but then I drove on them again, and again, and they kept chugging along without complaint. My friends who settled for the copy-cat knock-off versions of MAXTRAX are on their third or forth set.

I keep them locked on the spare tire of my Jeep, with their optional harness mount and I never leave home without them anymore.